5 O’Clock Roundup: Wal-mart wireless, AdWords for newbies, Windows 7 love
Straight Talk wireless phones go on sale Sunday at Wal-marts nationwide– Tracfone’s Straight talk phones start with a $30 per month plan, which operates on Verizon’s network. An unlimited data plan is only $45 per month, compared to $70 monthly for an iPhone contract. Boost Mobile, Leap Wireless and MetroPCS will all need to respond competitively. The Wall Street Journal reports that Sprint and T-Mobile have already been hurt by customers switching to lower-price brands, whereas… Continue Reading
WhoDoYouKnowAt: A more exclusive, private LinkedIn
When LinkedIn first launched, it touted itself as the premiere site for networking and personnel discovery on the web. Since then, it has grown massively, with people joining at all ranks and across all sectors. This has put a strain on arguably the most important component of the site: the ability to contact others who could help you further your career. As more users join, top-tier executives are becoming less and less inclined to provide… Continue Reading
Dell adds consumer coolness to its corporate laptops
The newest enterprise-focused laptops and desktops from Dell have been designed with “consumerization” in mind. That means Dell’s enterprise customers no longer want dull, boring computers. The new corporate computers are designed to be sleek, attractive and lightweight.
That’s a consistent theme in the computers Dell is launching today for business users. After all, says Todd Forsythe, vice president of life cycle management at Dell, business users are also consumers and they don’t want boring and… Continue Reading
Dell buying Perot Systems for $3.9B
Dell announced today that it’s acquiring Perot Systems, the IT services provider founded by former presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, for $3.9 billion.
Perot Systems has more than 1,000 customers, including the Department of Homeland Security and the US military, according to the Associated Press, with health care and government customers accounting for about 73 percent of its revenue. In the last year, the companies say they made a combined $16 billion in enterprise hardware and… Continue Reading
Roundup: Dell up, phishing down, App Store forecasts all around
Dell beats forecasts, boosting stock despite loss in profits — The company reported revenue of $12.9 billion net income of $472 million, 24 cents a share, a 23 percent decline from last year’s $616 million net from $16.4 billion in revenue. That’s 28 cents per share excluding costs associated with an in-process restructuring. Analysts had forecast $12.6B revenue and 23 cents per share earnings. Dell’s stock price jumped to $15.65 just before the close of… Continue Reading
Twitter to wring revenue from Starbucks, Dell, Whole Foods?
Finally, Twitter is talking about how it will bring in revenue. Sort of. In an interview today, the company still came across as grasping at straws rather than having a rock-solid plan.
Co-founder Biz Stone told Bloomberg today that the still-fast-growing micro-messaging site plans to “show we’re making some money” this year by giving supersize consumer brands such as Starbucks, Dell and Whole Foods ways to to pay to better bond with their customers on Twitter.
Too… Continue Reading
Dell makes small fortune from once-a-day Twitter account
Dell has 34 Twitter accounts, some of which post links to special offers. The company claims 600,000 followers. Once you know these numbers, it doesn’t seem crazy that Dell racked up $3 million in sales through Twitter so far. More than a million of those dollars came in within the past 6 months.
Three million is nothing to Dell, which posted $12.3 billion in revenue during Q1 of 2009.
Dell’s press release quotes Gartner analyst Allen Weiner… Continue Reading
Roundup: 18 Android phones coming this year, MySpace hoping for innovation, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Google: Expect 18 Android phones by the end of the year — That number could be as high as 20, says Andy Rubin, senior director for mobile platforms.
News Corp. and MySpace execs say MySpace needs to innovate — During an interview at the All Things Digital conference (owned by News Corp., incidentally), MySpace chief executive Owen Van Natta also discussed concerns that the site might lose its lucrative search deal with Google, saying the… Continue Reading
Roundup: OpenTable IPO this week, big cell phone launches approaching, Google facing antitrust scrutiny
Here’s the latest action:
OpenTable going public — Silicon Valley will likely welcome its first IPO in a while this week from the restaurant-reservation site.
Will the summer bring blockbuster cell phone sales? — The launch of the Palm Pre, iPhone 3.0 software, and others could juice cell phone sales. The New York Times has more.
FTC drops case against Rambus – After years of litigation, the Federal Trade Commisison is no longer pursuing an antitrust case against memory chip… Continue Reading
Roundup: Has Della got its groove back? Hulu, Google, etc.
Here’s the latest action:
Dell revises “Della,” its netbook marketing web site targeting women, after allegations of sexism — As Jezebel covers.
The once and future Valleywag — Owen Thomas (pictured right) is leaving to become editorial director of NBC Bay Area later this month. Ryan Tate will be taking over. Here’s Thomas’ farewell post.
The New York Times will figure out how to charge for some content by the end of June — The New York Observer has learned.
“Does Hulu,… Continue Reading
Roundup: Venture capital’s alleged irrelevance, Zillow’s continued success, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Study says venture capitalists less relevant for web startups — Santa Clara University Prof. Robert Hendershott has concluded that lower startup costs mean many entrepreneurs should go it alone, rather than raise funding from VCs.
Why isn’t Zillow dead? – Webware’s Rafe Needleman says he thought the real estate startup was in trouble, but an interview with chief executive Rich Barton convinced him otherwise.
Google Product Search for Android adds barcode scanning — Now users can… Continue Reading
Roundup: Intel ads, Apple-Twitter rumors, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Microsoft begins contest for applications that use its Azure services platform — More here.
Intel launches yet another branding campaign — More here.
There was some crazy rumor about Apple looking at buying Twitter — More details on Techmeme.
AT&T offers app for monitoring iPhone usage — Here.
Mobile ad growth slows, but expected to pick up again — This year, U.S. advertisers are expected to spend $229 million on mobile ads, up 26 percent from $169 million last year, according… Continue Reading
Roundup: Ashton vs. CNN, the NY Times vs. Sarah Lacy, Dell vs. HP and more
Here’s the latest action:
Expectations run high for Apple earnings — Goldman Sachs analyst David Bailey estimates the iPhone maker’s take at $8 billion for the second quarter, up 6 percent from last year.
Twitter topped 9 million visitors in March — The micro-blogging site saw a 131 percent spike in traffic, largely driven by older users. comScore has the scoop.
CNN and Ashton Kutcher neck and neck in Twitter race — The sprint to 1 million followers is heating up,… Continue Reading
Accel Partner’s Jim Breyer joins Dell board, brings internet connections
Accel Partners invests in areas like social networks, technology-driven media and advertising companies, mobile services and online storage outfits — so why would Jim Breyer, one of the firm’s better-known partners, be joining the board of PC maker Dell? He’s on the boards of ten companies, including startups like Facebook and Etsy, and public companies like Wal-Mart and Marvel — so is this just another board seat for him, or something more significant? I tried… Continue Reading
DEMO: Xandros powers up laptops in seconds with Presto
Xandros said today that its Presto platform is capable of powering on laptops within seconds, giving users instant access to email, chat, web browsing, Skype and other compatible applications.
Now you don’t have to wait a couple of minutes for Windows XP or Windows Vista to boot. The New York company made its announcement at DEMO 2009, and its application is now available for computer makers. A consumer download version will become available for $19.95 on… Continue Reading
Dell uses Zink Imaging to create an ink-free mobile printer
Zink Imaging is steadily expanding its reach for its inkless printing technology as it announces that licensee Dell has released its Dell Wasabi PZ310 Ink-free Mobile printer.
Bedford, Mass-based Zink Imaging figured out how to print without inkjet cartridges by embedding dried ink in paper. It heats the ink in precise locations to form an image. This new technology works especially well in creating mobile printers for devices like iPhones, where a normal printer is just… Continue Reading
Twitter starts to talk up corporate-account plan
Sometime soon, Twitter is expected to unveil its plan to make money. Based on comments made by Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams recently, it seems likely the plan will involve charging companies for accounts with special privileges.
In New York Magazine this week, both Stone and Williams said that charging companies for brand verification is something that the company was looking into. This makes a lot of sense, especially given the rise of fake… Continue Reading
Truce: Google and Microsoft join forces for an open white space spectrum
Google and Microsoft are perhaps the Internet’s two most fierce rivals. But that doesn’t mean they can’t work together from time to time. That’s what they’re doing to make it possible for consumers to take advantage of the TV white space spectrum, according to the Google Public Policy Blog.
The white space spectrum, sometimes simply known as the “white space,” refers to unused radio frequencies in between the ones that broadcast television signals. These high-bandwidth spaces… Continue Reading
Dell choosing between Windows Mobile and Android for its phone — is there really a choice?
It seems that the number of computer makers entering the smartphone market is growing daily now. Just one day after it was revealed that Acer would unveil a smartphone at next month’s Mobile World Conference, Dell is apparently thinking about doing the same thing. At the very least, it has been working on its phone for about a year now, and has some prototypes, sources tell The Wall Street Journal.
Dell’s situation is fairly interesting. As… Continue Reading
Acer dances its way into smartphones. Yes, Acer.
Once again, Apple has kick-started a trend. Companies that formerly made computers are now apparently going to start making mobile phones, with Acer being the latest, according to a report from Pocket-Link.
An invitation has gone out that asks members of the media and mobile communities to meet in Barcelona, Spain for a press conference on February 16 at the World Mobile Congress. The invitation promises “the rhythm of your life” and features a picture of… Continue Reading